AUSTIN, Texas – Texans who have legal issues as a direct result of the May 4 through June 19 severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding may receive free legal information from the Texas State Bar Volunteer Lawyers Program Hotline.

Creation of a legal information helpline is part of a long-standing agreement between the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the American Bar Association (ABA) through the Disaster Legal Services program (DLS).

Survivors who have legal questions can call 800-504-7030 for answers in English and Spanish. Callers can leave a message at any time. To assist survivors with basic legal questions, workers will connect callers with local legal service providers.

Designed for low-income individuals and families, the ABA/DLS program offers the services of attorneys who can advise on legal issues, including:

• Assistance with insurance claims (life, medical and property).
• Counseling on landlord/tenant problems.
• Assistance with home repair contracts.
• Assistance with consumer protection-foreclosure problems.
• Replacement of wills and other important legal documents destroyed in the disaster.
• Drafting powers of attorney.
• Preparation of guardianships and conservatorships.
• Referring individuals to local and state agencies that may be of further assistance.

Survivors should be aware that there are some limitations on disaster legal services. For example, assistance is not available for cases that will produce a fee (i.e., those cases where attorneys are paid part of settlement by the court). Such cases are referred to a local lawyer referral service.

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Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status.  If you or someone you know has been discriminated against call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY, call 800-462-7585.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.  Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/femaregion6.